Electrical connection.



PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903.

P. J. RUSSELL. ELECTRICAL CONNECTION. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13, 1903.

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No. 746,580. PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903. P. J. RUSSELL.

ELECTRICAL CONNECTION.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 13, 1903.

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' IIIIIIIIII f I Patented December 8, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK J. RUSSELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC-AL CONNECTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,580, dated December 8, 1903.

Application filed August 13, 1903. Serial No. 169,339. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. RUSSELL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York,borough ofBrooklyn,county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Connections, of which the following is a specification sufficient to enable others skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to what are known as flush receptacles or pockets and plugs for light, telephone, or other electrical circuit connections; and it consists in the special construction and arrangement of parts herein described and claimed specifically.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of my improved terminal'box with metallic cover in place. Fig. 2 is a view of the box with cover removed. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section upon plane of line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a View similar to Fig. 2 with the plug removed. Fig. 5 is a section of a wall outlet-box, showing my terurinal-box in elevation. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation upon an enlarged scale, showing the terminal-contacts; Fig. 7, a sectional view upon plane of line 7 7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a view of the bottom of the plug. Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 10, a similar view in part with the contact-bearing removed. Fig. 11 is an isometrical View of one of my floating contacts. Fig. 12 is a rear view of my improved terminal-box and connections; Fig. 13, a similar view, all connections being omitted. Fig. 14. is a front view of my improvedterminal-box without con nection parts. Fig. 15 is an end elevation of the terminalbox, and Fig. 16 a transverse section thereof. Fig. 17 is a rear elevation of the cover of the terminal-box; Fig. 18, a transverse section thereof on plane of line 18 18, Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a sectional detail, on the same scale as Fig. 6, of a portion of the plug, showing the position of the contacts when the plug is withdrawn from the terminal-box; Fig. 20, a transverse section upon plane of line 20 20, Fig. 2.

W represents the usual metallic wall outlet box or receptacle secured to or embedded in the wall or other interior surface of an apartment in any suitable manner, as heretofore, into which the circuit-wires w w are introduced through the conduit 10 B is my improved terminal-box, made in one piece, ofinsulating material,with a lateral flange 1) extending around its edge and used by me for the express purpose of insulating the metallic cover 0 from the metallic outletbox W in order to avoid any possibility of short-circuiting or grounding the current through said outlet-box V7. My terminalboX B is secured to the wall outlet-box W by screws or other well-known mechanical expedients. As shown in the drawings, two sets of screws d cl and d d are represented, either or both of which may be used, as preferred. 'Where the screws d d are used, the flange b is formed with screw-holes b and recesses 6 in which latter the heads of the screws d d are countersunk when the terminal-box Bis secured to the outlet W. Where the side screws cl d are used for fastening the terminal-box B to the back of the outletbox W, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 5, l employ spring-keepers K, attached to the sides of the box B, the free ends 7; of which bear against the shanks of the screws (1 cl in such manner as to hold the latter in the grooves 19 5 formed for their reception in the sides of said box without interfering with the movement of the screws longitudinally. The flange 1) is formed with the openings b 17 coinciding axially with the grooves b b to give access to the heads of the screws d d", which heads when the screws are driven home rest upon the semicircular shoulders 19 formed for their reception in the sides of the terminal-box B. By this construction and the use of the spring-keepers K, I am enabled to quickly and conveniently adjust and secure the terminal-box B within the wall outletbox W.

In securing the metallic cover to the flange b of the terminal-box B, I employ face or anchor-plates a a, fittingin recesses b", formed for them in the face of the said box B. These anchor-plates Cb a are held in position by screws to a, countersunk in the rear of the flange within the recessed perforations b as will be seen by reference to Fig. 20 of the drawings. The anchor plates to Ct being formed with the threaded holes a a for the reception of the screws 0 c constitute stationary nuts by means of which the cover 0 may be firmly secured to the terminal-box without danger of electrical connection with the outlet-box VI, since the anchoring-screws a a are embedded in the insulating material of which the terminal-box is composed.

The cover 0 is formed with the pivotallyconnected doors 0 c or equivalent means of atlording access to the interior of the terminal-box B for the purpose of inserting or removing the contact-plug P. The latter is oval or elliptical in general cross-section without ribs or protuberances of any kind, and the opposed inner side walls of the terminal-boX are formed with the concavities 11 b the radii of which coincide with those of the external side walls of the elliptical plug P.

b b are holes formed in the bottom or back of the terminal-box B for the admission of the circuit-wires w w, and 12 b are perforations to receive the shanks of the screws ff, by which the terminal-posts E E are secured in position. These postsE E are each formed with two lateral arms c e, the one, 6, threaded for engagement with an anchor-screw f, and the other, e, threaded for the reception of one of the binding-screws G G, by which the ends of the circuit-wires w w are secured to the posts E E, as will be understood by reference to Figs. 3 and (5.

The terminal-post contacts consist of flat return-springs I I, the shankst'i of which are interposed between lateral arms 6 e of the posts E Eand the rear wall of the terminalbOX B, so thattheanchor-screws ff bind both the terminal-posts E E and their spring-contacts I I firmly in position.

By forming each post E with the lateral flanges e e I provide a space or recess 6 (2 into which the bow t" of the contact-spring projects and within which it is free to advance or recede, thus economizing space within the terminal-box while attaining cheapness and simplicity of construction.

As before stated, the contact-plug is elliptical in general form,the ends beingtruncated to accommodate and conform to the flat surfaces of the terminal contact-springs I. The plugcontacts J J may be designated as floating contacts, in that they yield bodily under pressure against the resistance of springs s s, interposed between them and the body of the plug P. These floating contacts J J are preferably each U-shaped, consisting of a single piece of metal suitably perforated and bent to form the lateralarmsjj having the openings 7 and j, the latter, j, being threaded for engagement with the key-screw L, which also acts the binding-screw for one of the terminalwires of the plug P. The truncated ends of the plug P are formed with recesses 19 p for the reception of the body portions of the floating contacts J J and with slots 2) p for the reception of the lateral armsjj of said contacts J J. The plug P is also slotted to accommodate the nut-army" of each conltact J and formed with recesses 13 19 into which the key-screws L L project, thereby locking the floating contacts J J within the plug P. The screws also gage the distance which the contact-surfaces are allowed to protrude beyond the truncated ends of the plug, as will be seen by reference more particularly to Fig. 19, taken in conjunction with Figs. 6 and 7. The springs s s tend constantlytothrow thecontact-surfacesoutward, and hence when the plug P is withdrawn from the terminal-box B the key-screws L L are brought in contact with the side walls of the recesses 13 13 and the protrusion of the contact-surfaces is thereby limited to a degree that will insure the easy insertion of the plug between the terminal-springs I I.

It will be seen that my floating contacts J J are free to adapt themselves completely to the opposed surfaces of the terminal-springs I 1, since they move bodily at right angles to the aXes of the plug and are practically unrestricted, thus insuring a more perfect mechanical and electrical connection between the opposed conducting-s11rfaces than heretofore.

By my construction the terminal-box insulates and protects every metallic part used in connectiontherewith. l urthermore, the arrangement of parts is compact and simple and a minimum number of binding and retaining screws are used, since some of them perform a double function. The use of the recessed terminal-posts in conjunction with the return bend contact-springs economizes space while insuring broad resilient contact-surfaces, to which the floating contacts of the plug can readily adapt themselves.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In electrical connections, the combination with a metallic outlet-box, of a terminalbox of insulating material formed with a flange interposed between the outlet-box and the cover bearing against said metallic outlet-box, together with means securing said terminal-box of insulating material to said metallic outlet-box, for the purpose described.

2. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a terminal-box of insulating material formed with a-flange bearing against said metallic outlet box, means securing the said outlet-box and the said terminal-box together, and a metallic cover secured to said terminal-box of insulating material, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

3. In electrical connections the combination with the terminal-box of insulating material, formed with anchor-plates embedded therein, of a metallic cover secured to said anchor-plates, for the purpose and substantially in the manner set forth.

4. In electrical connections, the combination with the metallic boX W, the terminalbox of insulating material B, within the same and formed with the flange I), having the screwholes I), shoulders b and grooves h of the spring-keepers K attached to the terminalbox, securing-screws engaging the metallic box and said shoulders 19 and held in position in the grooves b beneath the screw-holes b by means of the spring-keepers K, substantially as set forth.

5. In electrical connections, the combination of the terminal-box of insulating material, of the terminal-posts E, formed with the lateral arms 6, e, thereturn-bend terminal contacts I, and the anchor-screws f, securing said posts and spring-terminals in position, substantially as set forth.

6. In electrical connections, in combination with the terminal-box of insulating material, a recessed terminal-post, and a returnbend spring-contact, extending partly into said recessed post for the purpose and substantially in the manner set forth.

7. In electrical connections, the combination of the metallic outlet-box W, the terminal box of non-conducting material formed with the opposed concave internal walls b b and the truncated electrical plug P, fitting between said concave walls, together with suitable electrical terminal connections, for the purpose and substantially in the manner described.

8. In combination with the terminal-box and connections, of the plug P, formed with convex surfaces and floating contacts movable at right angles to the axis of said plug, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination with the terminal-box of insulating material and its electrical connections, the plug P, formed with the recesses 19 and slots 19, the contact-surfaces J, carried by the plug and provided with the lateral arms,j,j ,cooperating with said slots and the springs s, interposed between said contacts J, J, and the body of the plug, substantially as set forth.

10. In electrical connections, the plug formed with the recessesp ,p slots p,p, the U-shaped contacts J carried by the plug, the springs s pressing outward against said contacts, and the locking and binding screws L passed through said contacts into the plug, arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

11. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a terminal-box of insulating material, screws attaching said terminal-box to said outlet-box, and springkeepers attached to the said'terminal-box and holding said attaching-screws in place, for the purpose set forth.

12. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, of a terminalboX of insulating material and a metallic cover, said terminal-box being provided with a flange interposed between said cover and outlet-box.

13. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a metallic cover, a terminal-box of insulating material provided with a flange interposed between said cover and outlet-box, and a plug removably held in place, as set forth.

14. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a metallic cover, a terminal-box of insulating material having a flange interposed between said outlet-box and cover, and a removable contact-plug oval in cross-section, the terminal-box having concavities with their walls corresponding with the external curved walls of said plug.

15. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a metallic cover, a terminal-box having a flange interposed between said cover and outlet-box, the terminal-box being of insulating material, a plug removahlyheld in place within the terminalbox, and spring terminal-post contacts.

16. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a metallic cover, a terminal-box of insulating material having a flange interposed between the outlet-box and cover, a removable plug, spring terminalpost contacts, and floating contacts carried by the plug cooperating with the terminalpost contacts.

17. In electrical connections, the combination of a metallic outlet-box, a metallic cover, a terminal-box of insulating material having a flange interposed between the outlet-box and cover, a removable plug carried by the terminal-box, spring terminal-post contacts, floating contacts carried by the plug cooperating with the terminal-post contacts, and means locking the floating contacts within the plug and gaging the distance they project beyond the end of the plug.

FRANK J. RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

D. W. GARDNER, FRANK E. ROACH. 

